Testing and comparing products and services is an important social function that has been performed most exceptionally by consumer protection groups, and most notably by Consumer Union of U.S., Inc. (101v Truman Avenue, Yonkers, N.Y.) which publishes Consumer Reports® and The Buying Guide®. These publications have historically displayed the overall results of scientific testing of products in the form of horizontal histograms having an “Overall Score” with scale increments of “P” for “Poor,” “F” for “Fair,” “G” for “Good,” “VG” for “Very Good,” and “E” for “Excellent.” This rating is based on a relative measurement to some standard established by Consumer Union. The standard is not immediately obvious, since the best product is not always rated as excellent, and the worst product is not always rated as poor.
In addition to the overall results displayed in histograms, Consumer Reports® and The Buying Guide®, the results of specific categorical tests are displayed in the form of shaded circles. A circle having horizontal bars covering the entire area of the circle represents “Excellent” performance. A circle having one-half of its surface covered by horizontal bars represents “Very Good” performance. A clear circle represents “Good” performance. A circle having one-half of its surface blackened represents “Fair” performance. A circle that is entirely blackened represents “Poor” performance.
While the above-described means of displaying performance are adequate for printed media, they are not very entertaining when viewed in an electronic format. They fail to take advantage of available technology that has been used to make other forms of education entertaining. Offering entertaining forms of education has been shown to benefit the students by making them interested in learning, and improving their ability to retain the information learned.
Commercials that make televised comparisons of products are well known and have been around for years. For example, taste testing of carbonated beverages such as Coca-Cola® and Pepsi® show actors selecting the sponsors' beverage in a blind taste test. These commercials fail to show the actors selecting the non-sponsored beverage, which nearly half of them do, and thus the commercial fails to communicate the statistical reality of the results of the testing. The commercials attempt to display the actual test, but not necessarily any display of the statistical results of multiple trials.
Other commercials have shown actors wiping up spills with a paper towel in which the paper towel self-destructs on contact with the spill. When the sponsor's paper towel is used it absorbs the spill and still looks new. These commercials also attempt to display the actual test, without data acquisition, normalization, or alternative display of the results.
Other commercials utilize a format that is designed to suggest some level of scientific comparison of products. The most famous of these was perhaps the one in which a gasoline had an additive that was proclaimed to substantially reduce pollution. A car was shown with a large plastic bag attached to the exhaust pipe filling up with black smoke, while men in lab coats with clipboards walked around taking notes. The same car was then filled with the sponsor's gasoline and the bag attached to the exhaust pipe appeared to be full of fresh air. It was later discovered that the first bag was made of a colored plastic. Besides misrepresenting the facts, this commercial failed to show a true relative performance of competing products that were scientifically tested, and instead suggested portrayal of an end result.